Various Artists - Gothik - Music From The Dark Side

The Gothik: Music From The Dark Side compilation is widely celebrated for its extensive and ambitious tracklist, featuring over 30 bands that span the diverse sub-genres of the goth scene. Released by Cleopatra Records, the two-disc set is frequently cited as a definitive overview for both new listeners and "seasoned elder-goths". It includes essential 1980s pioneers like Christian Death and Alien Sex Fiend alongside then-contemporary artists such as Switchblade Symphony and London After Midnight, offering a deep dive into darker industrial and experimental sounds that go beyond standard "best-of" hits.

Reviews on platforms like Discogs and Amazon often highlight the compilation's ability to introduce fans to obscure bands they might not have otherwise encountered. While some listeners note that certain tracks may feel less essential to the genre, the overall consensus remains highly positive, with many considering it one of the best and most focused collections available. The special anniversary edition, which adds a Gothic Industrial Mix DVD, is particularly praised for providing even greater value and variety

Various Artists - Goth Box [Cleopatra Records]

The Goth Box, released by Cleopatra Records in 1996, serves as a massive four-CD time capsule for the 1990s gothic and darkwave scenes. Spanning over 60 tracks, the compilation is less a "greatest hits" of the 80s and more a curated showcase of the era's thriving underground. It features staple acts like Christian Death, Alien Sex Fiend, and Bauhaus, but its true value lies in the inclusion of then-emerging bands like Rosetta Stone, Switchblade Symphony, and London After Midnight. For many listeners, this box set acted as a definitive "starter kit" that captured the transition from classic deathrock to the more electronic, industrial-tinged sounds of the late 90s.

Critically, the collection is praised for its ambitious scope and atmospheric consistency, though like most sprawling compilations, it is occasionally noted for having some "filler" tracks. The packaging—often housed in a distinctively dark, oversized box—became iconic among collectors for its commitment to the subculture's aesthetic. While some purists argue it leans too heavily on Cleopatra’s own roster, it remains a highly respected historical document. It successfully archived a specific moment when the goth scene was reinventing itself through darkwave and EBM, making it an essential reference point for anyone exploring the genre’s second wave.

Various Artists - Dark As A Batcave, A Gothic-Post Punk Mix

The Dark As A Batcave compilation serves as a raw, high-energy homage to the legendary London nightclub, bridging classic 1980s post-punk with modern deathrock to capture the "dark glamour" aesthetic. It features a blend of pioneering and revivalist bands, including Specimen and Alien Sex Fiend, that define the club's signature sound.

Back in 1982, the original Goth club opened over at Soho in London (most notably at the building that housed Gossips, at the club formally known as Billy’s, located on 69 Dean St) This was an event organized by the members of the dark and glamorous Specimen, and featured Dj’s such as Hamish Macdonald with his project Sexbeat, and Anni Hogan, who would become a long time collaborator with Marc Almond, who was also a regular attendee.

In fact, this was a club attended by nearly every Post-Punk musician in London at the time, such as Robert Smith of The Cure, members of Siouxsie and The Banshees (Note that Steven Severin and Robert Smith wrote music for Marc Almond and Anni Hogan’s project Marc and the Mambas, this, along with The Glove was surely a collaboration inspired by hanging out at The Batcave), Nick Cave, Nik Fiend (Alien Sex Fiend), Andi Sex Gang (Sex Gang Children), Ian Astbury of Southern Death Cult—they all haunted this club.

Indeed, the Batcave was the place to be, and the highly stylized dark glamour of the attendees went on to define what would be considered the “Gothic” subculture, even connecting with bands in Los Angeles, such as Christian Death, and with the legendary Danceteria nightclub in New York.

Various Artists - Urgh! A Music War

Urgh! A Music War is a return to The T.A.M.I. Show. The acronym stood for Teen Age Music International. No kid would have thought of that. Cut from concerts all over the UK, the US and in France, the film features thirty-five performances by thirty-two bands, all more or less identified by what we were calling post-punk or – more commonly – new wave music at the start of the '80s. Many of the bands included were signed to the roster of I.R.S. Records or Frontier Booking International (F.B.I.) a record label and an artist management company run respectively by Miles and Ian Copeland, brother of Stewart Copeland, drummer for the Police, who have three songs in Urgh! and open and close the movie.The brothers were major players in marketing punk and new wave music to the mainstream: Baby Boomers who packaged rebellious youth culture, like T.A.M.I. Show director Steve Binder and his crew from the Steve Allen Show, backed by American International, a subsidiary of MGM – an older generation selling the kids what they wanted to see, without too much attention paid to curation.
The acts in Urgh! are a wildly mixed bag, apparently chosen either by their contractual ties to the Copelands or by the simple expedience of being on tour and available for the filmed concerts. There's the Police, of course, performing in an amphitheatre built in a Roman ruin in Fréjus, on the Côte d'Azur, on their way to becoming one of the biggest musical acts of the '80s, along with a few bands that would enjoy brief but notable chart success, like the Go-Gos, Gary Numan, Devo, XTC, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Joan Jett, Wall of Voodoo and UB40. There are holdovers from the recent heyday of punk rock – the Dead Kennedys, Chelsea, 999, X – and post-punk bands whose reputation would grow long after they broke up (often re-forming decades later), like Magazine, Gang of Four, Pere Ubu and Echo & the Bunnymen. And then there are novelty acts best forgotten (The Surf Punks), oddballs that didn't age well (Skafish), lovable eccentrics (John Otway, John Cooper Clarke), and Invisible Sex, a band that apparently never really existed, whose only trace is their performance in Urgh!. And there's Klaus Nomi, a fascinatingly strange persona – imagine Struwwelpeter meets Dr. Caligari, singing opera – who needed the new wave moment to get his shot at the spotlight, but whose backup band seems to be a bunch of hippie sessions musicians in white coveralls. (And of course a moments silence for Splodgenessabounds from Kent, who appear in the credits and were filmed, but ended up on the cutting room floor).
The fuel for Urgh! was cheap and effective: weed and speed, punk drugs that provided bang for the buck before heroin made its periodic and inevitable appearances, culling the herd in every town's musical scene when it did. The performances in the film are mostly twitchy and nervous, even spasmodic, either to echo the music – Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo and a song with far too many tempo changes – or underscore the rage and/or alienation that our generation made it a point of pride to express. Most wired of all is John Otway, vaulting and tumbling across the stage, making me cringe in anticipation of the bruises and joint pain every time he does. With all this angst to express, it might be surprising that reggae became such a major influence on so many punk and new wave bands in the film, like the Police, the Members and UB40 (not to mention the Clash, the Ruts, PiL, the Slits, Bad Brains and many, many others). Urgh!'s frantic and ultimately exhausting pace comes to a sudden halt when Steel Pulse, an actual reggae band, perform "Ku Klux Klan" – with the band's percussionist charging onstage in a robe and pointed hood to menace the lead singer. Even if it wasn't unfashionable at the time, the musicianship and access to grooves weren't really within the musical skillset of most musicians in the punk scene; reggae was the closest we could get, although Steel Pulse's appearance is a reminder of how pale – pun intended – punk's reggae pastiches usually sounded.
When I finally saw Urgh!, many years after it first played in theatres – "real" punks didn't like being blatantly marketed to – it was to watch The Cramps, one of my favourite bands of the time, perform a typically unhinged cover of "Tear it Up." (The Cramps were basically what parents in the '50s thought their kids were seeing when they watched Gene Vincent; amazingly, they still have the same greasy charisma today, years after the death of their frontman, Lux Interior.) And I still love watching Gary Numan drive around the stage in his little cart; it's both endearing and hilarious. My late viewing of the film finally forced me to appreciate bands I'd missed, like the Au Pairs and the Alley Cats. There seemed to be so much happening with punk and its aftermath, and only so much a poor punk kid from the suburbs could hear or afford first time around. The fact that I can still critically parse my reaction to the bands and performances in Urgh! A Music War (yes, it's a terrible title) gives you some idea of how engaged I was with the music, then and now. I never felt the same again – it was more a sense of being a spectator to a musical moment that came and went before I knew what it was.

Various Artists - Pulp Fiction (Music From The Motion Picture)

Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction is the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction. No traditional film score was commissioned for Pulp Fiction. The film contains a mix of American rock and roll, surf music, pop and soul. The soundtrack is equally untraditional, consisting of nine songs from the movie, four tracks of dialogue snippets followed by a song, and three tracks of dialogue alone. Seven songs featured in the movie were not included in the original 41-minute soundtrack. Tarantino used an eclectic assortment of songs by various artists. Notable songs include Dick Dale's now-iconic rendition of "Misirlou", which is played during the opening credits. Tarantino chose surf music for the basic score of the film because, "it just seems like rock 'n' roll Ennio Morricone music, rock 'n' roll spaghetti Western music." In addition to the surf-rock rendition of "Misirlou", other notable songs include "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang, Dusty Springfield's version of "Son of a Preacher Man", "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers and "Bustin' Surfboards" by The Tornadoes, which had been one of the first instrumental surf songs to hit the United States music charts after notables such as "Walk--Don't Run" by the Ventures. Excerpts of dialogue include Jules' "Ezekiel 25:17" speech and the "Royale with Cheese" exchange between Jules and Vincent.

Various Artists - Trainspotting (Music From The Motion Picture)

The Trainspotting soundtrack is widely considered a masterpiece of curation, serving as a sonic time capsule for the "Cool Britannia" era of the mid-1990s. By seamlessly blending the high-energy pulse of underground electronic music with the swagger of Britpop and the raw grit of 70s glam-rock, the album does more than just accompany the film—it defines its identity. Iggy Pop’s "Lust for Life" famously provides the frantic heartbeat for the opening chase, while Underworld’s "Born Slippy (.nuxx)" became a definitive anthem for a generation, capturing the euphoric yet hollow comedown of the rave scene.

Beyond its role in the movie, the compilation is praised for its narrative flow and emotional range. It moves effortlessly from the dark, melancholic beauty of Lou Reed’s "Perfect Day" to the upbeat, quirky energy of Pulp and Elastica, mirroring the volatile highs and lows of the characters' lives. Critics and fans alike celebrate it as a rare example of a soundtrack that stands alone as a cohesive, essential studio album, one that fundamentally shifted how filmmakers used popular music to tell stories.

Various Artists - Shine - 20 Brilliant Indie Hits

Shine (or Shine One), released in 1995, served as the definitive introduction to a series that would become a staple for Britpop and indie fans throughout the mid-90s. This first volume captured a pivotal moment in the UK music scene, blending massive chart-toppers from bands like Oasis and Blur with quintessential indie anthems from the likes of The Stone Roses and Pulp. Reviewers and collectors often highlight the album for its impeccable sequencing, noting that it managed to bottle the high-energy, optimistic spirit of the "Cool Britannia" era better than almost any other commercial compilation at the time.

Critically, the album is remembered as an essential "time capsule" that bridged the gap between underground guitar music and mainstream pop success. While later entries in the 10-volume series eventually leaned into more generic alternative tracks, this debut remains the most revered for its focus and quality. It is frequently praised in retrospective reviews for its lack of "filler," making it a sought-after item for vinyl and CD collectors who want a concise, high-quality representation of 1995's indie landscape without the bloated tracklists found in later genre anthologies.

Various Artists - Scared To Get Happy - A Story Of Indie-Pop 1980-1989

Released in 2013 by Cherry Red Records, Scared To Get Happy: A Story of Indie-Pop 1980–1989 is a monumental five-CD box set that serves as a definitive archive of the UK’s independent pop scene. Spanning 134 tracks, the collection traces the genre's evolution from the jagged, DIY spirit of post-punk and the seminal C86 movement to the melodic jangle-pop and early shoegaze of the late eighties. It features a mix of heavyweights like The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, and Prefab Sprout alongside dozens of cult favourites and obscure "one-single" bands, all accompanied by a 54-page booklet that provides a deep historical dive into the era's fiercely independent ethos.

Critics and fans generally view the set as an essential, high-quality document, often comparing its cultural importance to the garage-rock Nuggets compilation. While it has faced minor criticism for missing a few key acts like The Pastels or Felt due to licensing hurdles, it is praised for its ambitious scope and for rescuing many lost gems from obscurity. By capturing the transition from the post-punk "year zero" to the dawn of Britpop, the compilation offers a nostalgic yet scholarly look at a decade defined by fanzines, flexi-discs, and the rise of influential labels like Creation, Sarah, and Postcard.

Various Artists - The Sun Shines Here (The Roots Of Indie-Pop 1980-1984)

This 74-track compilation, released by Cherry Red, serves as a meticulous prequel to their acclaimed Scared to Get Happy box set. It captures the pivotal transition between 1980 and 1984, when the jagged intensity of post-punk began to soften into the melodic, DIY aesthetic that defined early indie-pop. By spotlighting seminal labels like Postcard, Whaam!, and Creation, the collection tracks the evolution of a scene that rejected the polished artifice of the mainstream in favour of jangly guitars, earnest lyricism, and a fiercely independent spirit.

The set is widely praised for its eclectic curation, balancing influential acts like The Pastels, Josef K, and The Teardrop Explodes with deeply obscure "lost" gems. While critics occasionally note the absence of a few heavy hitters like Orange Juice, the anthology is lauded for documenting the genre's "year zero" and providing essential context for the C86 movement that followed. It’s a vibrant, scholarly, and often nostalgic look at a period of immense creative freedom, proving that the roots of indie-pop were as much about a shared attitude as they were about a specific sound.

Various Artists - Une Saison En Enfer (World Domination)

Une Saison En Enfer (World Domination), released in 1988 on the Third Mind Records label, serves as a definitive snapshot of the late-80s dark alternative scene. Taking its title from Arthur Rimbaud’s seminal poem, the compilation weaves together a somber tapestry of industrial, gothic rock, and ethereal sounds. It is highly regarded by collectors for its moody atmosphere and its ability to bridge the gap between harsh electronic textures and more melodic, haunting arrangements, characteristic of the era's underground movement.

The tracklist features influential names of the period, most notably a standout remix of "I'll Gather Flowers" by the band Area. Because it was released during a pivotal time when industrial music was branching into more experimental and dance-oriented subgenres, the album is often cited as a hidden gem for fans of labels like 4AD or Wax Trax!. While it remains a relatively obscure relic today, it is valued for its cohesive curation, capturing the "world domination" of darkwave aesthetics before the genre shifted into the 1990s.

Various Artists - Fused (35 New Directions In Indie-Dance)

Fused (35 New Directions In Indie-Dance) is a defining 1997 compilation from Polygram TV that captures the peak of the UK's "indie-dance" crossover era. Serving as a spiritual successor to the Wired series, it curates a sophisticated mix of trip-hop, electronica, and big beat. The collection is celebrated for its moody, late-night atmosphere, featuring heavyweights like Orbital, Portishead, and Underworld. Rather than focusing solely on club anthems, it prioritises "intelligent" electronic music that resonated with both Britpop fans and underground ravers.

The album is structured across two discs, balancing high-energy remixes with melancholic downtempo tracks. Notable highlights include Hardfloor’s driving remix of Depeche Mode and the haunting "Spin Spin Sugar" by Sneaker Pimps. Critics and listeners alike often praise the compilation for its cohesive flow, moving seamlessly from the cinematic energy of The Saint theme to the experimental textures of Björk and Goldie. Even decades later, it remains a nostalgic time capsule of a period when electronic music was becoming the new alternative standard.

Various Artists - Wired (New Directions In Dance)

Released in 1997 by PolyGram TV, Wired (New Directions in Dance) is a definitive 2-CD compilation that captures the peak of the UK’s electronic and "Big Beat" movement. The album is lauded for its high-energy curation, featuring 35 tracks from the era's most influential heavyweights, including The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, and Leftfield. Rather than sticking to a single niche, it successfully bridges the gap between mainstream chart-toppers and the gritty, harder-edged sounds of the underground club scene, making it a polished time capsule of late-90s dance culture.

The compilation is particularly praised for its pacing and diversity, blending high-octane anthems like "Breathe" and "Leave Home" with sophisticated downtempo and trip-hop contributions from artists like Massive Attack and Morcheeba. By including essential remixes—such as Danny Saber's take on Garbage—alongside genre-defining techno and drum and bass tracks, Wired remains a highly-regarded "car stereo" classic. For listeners, it offers a seamless flow that encapsulates the optimistic, experimental spirit of a time when electronic music was rapidly evolving into a global phenomenon.

Various Artists - They Only Come Out At Night

While often overshadowed by its heavy metal counterpart, the punk version of the 1985 compilation They Only Come Out At Night (CLAY LP 17M) serves as a gritty retrospective of Clay Records’ foundational role in the UK82 and hardcore punk movements. This variant highlights the label's "street" identity, featuring high-velocity tracks from icons like G.B.H. and The Lurkers, alongside the aggressive, crossover-leaning sounds of English Dogs and Abrasive Wheels. Unlike the label's metal releases that leaned into melodic polish, this collection captures the raw, political energy and abrasive waves of sound that defined the transitional period when British punk began evolving into more extreme subgenres. For collectors, it remains a vital artifact that documents the label's commitment to the D-beat and street-punk scenes before their focus shifted toward the burgeoning NWOBHM market.

Various Artists - Punk And Disorderly III (The Final Solution)

Released in 1983, Punk and Disorderly III (The Final Solution) serves as a gritty time capsule of the UK82 scene, leaning heavily into the aggressive, street-punk sound that defined the era. While often cited as the least consistent of the original trilogy, it remains a vital document of the genre, featuring heavyweights like The Exploited, UK Subs, and The Adicts. The compilation captures a shift toward faster, more confrontational hardcore, though some critics felt it lacked the standout anthems found on the first two volumes. Despite the controversial title and original artwork—which have been softened in modern reissues—it is still highly regarded by collectors for its raw energy and its role in bringing underground acts like The Samples and One Way System to a wider audience.

Various Artists - Punk And Disorderly (Further Charges)

Punk and Disorderly – Further Charges (1982) is a quintessential "UK82" compilation that captures the second wave of British punk as it shifted toward a faster, more aggressive street-punk and early hardcore sound. Peaking at No. 6 on the UK Indie Chart, the album serves as a gritty time capsule of the era, featuring definitive tracks from heavyweights like The Exploited, GBH, UK Subs, and The Adicts. Reviewers generally celebrate it as an essential, high-energy document of the scene's underground peak, though modern listeners often note that various CD reissues have altered the original vinyl tracklist. Overall, it remains a classic "must-have" for fans of raw, anthemic 80s punk.

Various Artists - New Wave Heroes

The New Wave Heroes double album is a budget-priced, 40-track compilation bridging late-70s British punk and subsequent new wave with artists like The Clash, The Jam, and Blondie. Praised as a high-value "nostalgia trip" for fans and a solid entry point for newcomers, the collection is considered a comprehensive overview despite a heavy focus on British acts.

Various Artists - Rip It Up And Start Again (Postpunk 1978-1984)

Simon Reynolds’ Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 is a critically acclaimed chronicle that explores the experimental explosion of music following punk's initial decline. The book argues that while punk revitalized rock, the post-punk movement fulfilled its revolutionary potential by embracing "forward-looking" styles like funk, dub, and electronica. Reynolds provides an exhaustive, "forensic" look at legendary artists like Joy Division, Talking Heads, and Public Image Ltd, weaving together their stories with the social and political turbulence of the time. Though some readers find the dense, intellectual prose "heavy going," it is widely regarded by reviewers from The Guardian and The New York Times as the definitive historical account of this highly creative era.

Various Artists - Dreams To Fill The Vacuum, The Sound Of Sheffield 1977-1988

Dreams To Fill The Vacuum: The Sound Of Sheffield 1977-1988 is a comprehensive 4CD box set that chronicles the evolution of Sheffield’s post-punk and electronic music scene. Featuring nearly 100 tracks, the collection balances global chart-toppers like The Human League, ABC, and Heaven 17 with obscure local rarities and 12 previously unreleased recordings. Critics from outlets like Electronic Sound and The Progressive Aspect praise its ability to capture the city’s unique "synth adventure" and "Yorkshire humour" against a backdrop of industrial decline. The set is anchored by an extensive hardback book containing over 20,000 words of memoirs and essays, providing a deep socio-economic context that makes it an essential snapshot of a pioneering era in British music history.

Various Artists - Take Everything Leave Nothing

Released in 1987 by the influential Australian label Citadel Records, Take Everything Leave Nothing is a definitive 23-track compilation capturing the raw energy of the mid-80s Australian underground scene. The double-LP features a powerhouse lineup of garage, psychedelic, and indie rock bands, including iconic acts like The Stems, The Celibate Rifles, and Died Pretty. Serving as both a label showcase and a time capsule of the "Sydney Sound," the album highlights the era's gritty production and high-octane songwriting, making it a sought-after piece for collectors of 1980s alternative rock history.

Various Artists - Wide Open Road

Wide Open Road: A Road Trip Through Australia's Musical Landscapes is a 2008 multimedia project and compilation album by ABC Music that explores how the continent's diverse geography—from the outback to the coast—has shaped the identity of Australian contemporary music. Taking its title from The Triffids' iconic anthem, the collection serves as a sonic journey featuring legendary artists like Midnight Oil, The Saints, and Cold Chisel. The project also included a four-part radio documentary series narrated by Richard Kingsmill, which used archival sound and artist interviews to map the "songlines" of the nation's musical history.